Review: Obisidio (The Illuminae Files #3)
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4 stars. Phew, what a wild ride. These books are really great - really impressive. It's clear a ton of effort went into the storytelling and the graphics and worldbuilding, and honestly, it all just comes across as really fucking entertaining. I'll be honest, I was tempted to skim through the climax (you know, just to zoom past all the pesky complications and fake-out deaths) but I stuck with it and it was really worth it. I'm a little sad it's over, for all my bitching and complaining about how challenging it is for me to finish a series.
Obsidio picks up immediately where Gemina left off - with a raggedy band of teen heroes attempting to take down Evil Corp and save lives and get laid. Heimdall has been destroyed, survivors are cramped on the Mao, and the only viable means of jump transportation leads them back to where it all began, Kerenza, where BeiTech is trying to wrap things up and return to the office, so to speak. All the favorites are still in play, including AIDAN, who I definitely do NOT dream about at night because he is definitely NOT my new favorite character of ALL time.
Look, this shit is just fun - and, as I noted in my review of Illuminae, deep. We have space battles and wormholes and AI and we also have explorations of good vs evil, morality, ethics, war, death, identity, grief, existence, etc. I found the juxtaposition really jarring in the first book (I think that's probably because my expectations were off ... I judged! And was wrong for it!) but learned to love it here. This stuff makes you think. Maybe I learned a lesson, or two.
If I had any quibbles, it would be that this one didn't need so many subplots. And also the romances annoyed me, but that's because I'm ice cold and also because I was nowhere NEAR as cool or smart or emotionally mature or monogamous as these teenagers. So I found the whole love thing a little ... ridiculous. And unnecessary?
But honestly, good stuff. I'm officially interested in checking out more from Kaufman and Kristoff, if not a little frightened of what is apparently a very passionate fanbase? Nah, I'm excited. Onward. AIDAN, call me.